Questions and Answers
Below are the answers to a set of questions about life down here, posed by some students from a school in Queensland, Australia.
Tara asks: What kind of toilets do you have?
On our main living platform the toilets are just the same as the ones you have at home. On the other platforms we have 'incinolet' toilets which are electric and have a big heating element in them. After you've done your business the waste is burnt and turned to ash which can be easily disposed off. When we are far from the base, camping in a tent we have to go in a hole in the ground!
Mikayla and Daniel ask: Why do you want to keep going to Antarctica?
Well actually this is my first visit here, it's just that I've been here for a long time! I would definitely consider coming back though. I think that people enjoy the challenge of going somewhere so different and isolated. It's also a lot of fun living down here as you don't have anyone to tell you what to do. Of course that means that there is more responsibility too - we all have to look after each other as there is no one to help us if something breaks or someone gets ill!!
Jeremy asks: What sort of food do you eat in Antarctica?
When we are on base we eat fairly similar food to at home. The only problem is that fresh food is only brought in once a year so we have a limited amount of fresh fruit and vegetables. To replace them we have a lot of tinned, frozen and even dried food. Still, we have a professional chef to cook for us and he does a great job of making the most from limited ingredients. Also because the air is very dry and there aren't any germs a lot of things last longer than they would at home. It is now 9 months since the food was brought but we still have some potatoes, carrots, onions and even eggs left that are usable!
Andrew asks: What do you think makes Antarctica a beautiful place?
There are several things. The lack of people is one thing that makes it seem special - millions of miles of wilderness with very few people and buildings makes it a very pure environment. Also I think the snow and ice is very photogenic, it seems to form the most incredibly grand structures like icebergs and ice cliffs which you can't see anywhere else.
Cassie asks: Have you ever had a power failure in Antarctica?
Yes, that does happen every so often. The base is run using large truck engines which run on aviation fuel. There are three engines on the main platform and two on the science platform, but only one runs at a time on each. The others are spares which mean that they can be serviced while another one is running. Occasionally one of them will shut down unexpectedly and we will lose power. It doesn't usually take our generator mechanic very long to start one of the other and once that's done he can look into the problem. We have emergency lighting which comes on if the power fails and the building stays warm for a while even without power so it's just something we get used to.
Jesse asks: Do you check if there are holes in the Ozone Layer?
Yes, in fact the hole in the ozone layer was originally discovered by scientists using data from Halley. One of our experiments is called the Dobson Spectrometer and it is used to measure the amount of ozone in the atmosphere. The good news is that since the worldwide ban on CFCs,will still take many years for it to disappear completely.
Sheena asks: How do you wash and dry your clothes?
We have washing machines and tumble dryers just like back home. One difference is that we have to make sure that the machines are always full so we don't waste water. Our only source of water is to shovel snow into a tank which is melted to make water. It takes four people 15 minutes every day to shovel enough snow for the day so we are always trying to find ways to save water!
Kacy asks: Does the moon look any different in Antarctica?
Yes, it's upside-down! In fact the moon is the other way up anywhere in the southern hemisphere but it is particularly obvious here. To see for yourself, compare this photo of a full moon taken in Georgia, USA to one of the same moon taken from Halley:
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| Georgia, USA | Halley, Antarctica |
Samara asks: What is your favourite thing about Antarctica?
There are a lot of things, but I think my favourite time down here is when we go away on our winter trips. We drive skidoos pulling sledges across the ice shelf and set up camp a long way from base. From there we get to go exploring ice caves and crevasses and abseil off cliffs onto the sea ice. It's great fun and a real adventure - something I think we are very lucky to see.
Kayhler asks: You have seen the penguins but have you seen any other animals close up?
The only other animals that we see this far south are seals, skuas (like a big, brown sea gull) and snow petrols (small white birds). Because they don't consider people to be a threat to them they are very tame and let you get quite close. I also got to see some Minke whales swimming around the coast when we first arrived here.
On the way down on the ship we stopped at places like South Georgia which are just full of all kinds of wildlife. One of the most memorable experiences was seeing Albatross chicks sitting on their nests. The chicks are enormous, much bigger than your Christmas turkey!
Kristina asks: Have you ever patted any Antarctic animals?
Although they will let you get very close, we stop short of touching the animals under normal circumstances because we don't want to upset them. When we visited bird island I did get to touch a penguin as they have to catch some of them to put tags on them for their research. It felt quite different to what I expected - much more like a fish than a bird!
Anthony asks: Have you travelled to any other countries apart from on the way to Antarctica?
Yes, I've been lucky to have travelled quite a lot before coming here. When I was growing up I lived in Belgium, the Philippines and Indonesia and since then I've been to quite a few places, including Australia, China, Iceland, Tunisia, Central America and parts of Europe. I plan to do some more travelling when I get back - I'd still like to visit New Zealand, Canada and the USA.
Jamie asks: Have you heard about the bomb attacks in London?
Yes we heard about it. Last summer we had an internet connection installed which has made it a lot easier to keep in touch with news back home. We don't have TV here so we got most of our information by reading news websites. It is strange to be down here when big events happen at home because you feel a lot less involved.
Danica asks: Has anyone been sick during the time you have been there?
Maddie asks: If there are no germs does anyone ever get a cold or the flu in Antarctica?
It is very rare for anyone to get a cold during the winter months, precisely because there are no germs in the air. Instead we all tend to get sick when the first new people arrive in the summer, because our immune systems aren't used to having to fight off germs!
The only case of illness I've heard about in the winter happened a few years ago. Several of the base members got sick just after a visit to the penguins, so they think that they caught something from them!
Apart from colds the other health problems we have are accidents. They are quite rare but they do sometimes happen and we have to deal with them ourselves. Last year someone got his finger caught in the engine of a snowmobile! Fortunately we have a qualified doctor down here with us who can sew us back together again and after a few stitches he made a full recovery.
Ethan asks: Do you have any video/computer type games to play?
Some people have brought computer games down with them to play in there spare time. Of course it is impossible to get the latest games here - like everything else we have to wait for the ship to arrive in December with new supplies.
Sheena asks: Where do you get all the dress-up clothes from?
We have a couple of suitcases with some old clothes in that have been brought in over the years but generally we have to improvise with whatever materials are available. For instance in my costume, the orange material was actually the material used to repair our pyramid tents!
Samara asks: What gave you the idea to dress up as Gandhi?
I was browsing through our video and dvd collection looking for inspiration and noticed a film made about Gandhi's life. I thought that it would be quite funny and wouldn't be too hard to do!
Sheena asks: With the new design for Halley, do you think the glass on the roof in the central module will be strong enough?
I hope so! I'm sure that the designers will think carefully about the materials they use for the base. As well as being well insulated to stop the base from getting cold it will need to be flexible and the platform will probably move around when it is windy. Of course it will need to be strong too as it would be difficult to fix in the winter if it broke!
Jared asks: How do you feel when the media uses "paraphrasing" and mis-reports what you say?
It can be a bit frustrating when they misreport events either accidentally (by not taking the time to do enough research) or intentionally (to make things sound more exciting than they are). I've kind of got used to it now though, but it has taught me not to take everything you see on TV or read in a newspaper at face value!
Jake asks: After reading your answer about the "upside down moon" and looking at the photos on the sites you recommended, how would the moon look right at the Equator? Would it be on its side?
Yes, that's exactly right. The moon doesn't suddenly switch from being one way up to being the other, it all depends on your latitude (how far north or south you are). If you could move quickly from the north pole to the south pole while looking at the moon you would see it gradually rotate through 180 degrees. Of course the moon isn't really rotating - you are!
Crystal asks: If the people who stay in Antarctica during the winter are called "Winterers", are the people who stay during the summer called "Summerers"?
That's right. The reason for having different names is because it is a very different experience. If you come down for the summer the longest you stay is 2 months, from the end of December until the end of February. After that the ship leaves and doesn't return until next December - so the shortest time a winterer can spend here is 9 months! Because you are here for so long without being able to leave winterers are given more strict medical and dental checkups before they arrive.
Casey and Amy F. ask: Do your melting tanks ever freeze up?
We do sometimes have problems with the melt tank getting blocked in the summer time. We use much more water then so sometimes we can't melt snow fast enough and it gets blocked. When that happens we have to use a big stick to break up the ice off the surface. During the winter there is enough heating to keep the tank liquid even when it is very cold.
Corey asks: Have you ever seen any penguins sliding across the ice and have you ever seen any leopard seals attacking the penguins?
Yes, we see emperor penguins sliding across the ice on their bellies quite a lot. You can see some of them doing it in this picture:
It is very funny to watch!
I haven't seen a leopard seal catching a penguin here. Leopard seals are actually quite rare this far south and we don't get to visit the coast that often.
Crystal asks: Is it more fun in the summer or the winter?
I think it is better in the winter. The summer is a very busy time for the base as we have to get a lot of work done while the weather is warm. That means we work long days, from 8am until 7pm, six days a week. That doesn't leave a lot of time for relaxation and by the end of the summer everyone is very tired.
Also there are a lot more people around in the summer (up to 60 people instead of 16 in the winter). That means that you have to share your bedroom, which is very small anyway, and there is much less privacy. Still, it is still quite good fun as it is nice to have more people to socialise with.
Lauren asks: We know that five people at Halley have a job to do there. We know that there is a plumber, a chef, a generator mechanic, a doctor and that you are a scientist and the commander as well as looking after the computers. We were wondering what job the other people at Halley do?
There are 16 people wintering this year (the exact number can change but 16 is about normal). The jobs are divided into science and support. The support staff are a plumber, electrician, vehicle mechanic, generator mechanic, steel erector/carpenter, chef, field assistant, doctor, communications manager. The sciences are 3 meteorologists, 3 electronic engineers and a data manager (that's me). Last year we also had two atmospheric chemists.
Kyle asks: When you collect data do you share it with any other bases in Antarctica?
I'm not exactly sure of the details but as I understand it BAS has a policy of sharing all the data which they obtain from here. I think it is actually a requirement of the funding which they receive from the UK government.
Sheena asks: When you clean things do you have to take all of the waste from the cleaning products out of Antarctica?
At the current base we remove all waste except for food (which is buried in the snow) and waste water and sewage (which is piped deep into the ice shelf). All other waste is removed from Antarctica and recycled when practical. At the moment we recycle glass, tin cans, aluminium cans and plastic bottles.
When Halley VI is built we intend to do even better. Sink and shower water will be reused to flush toilets and food waste will be incinerated and the ash removed. Hopefully we will be able to recycle even more too.
Ashley asks: Has anyone at Halley had frostbite?
Yes, occasionally people do get mild frostbite, but not to the extent where fingers and toes start falling off! Sometimes if you are working outside or away from base and you don't have the proper gloves it can be hard to avoid. Also someone accidentally spilled some fuel on their hand which was at -50C which froze their hand instantly. When this happens people tend to lose all feeling which can sometimes take many weeks to fully return.
More common is a very mild form we call frostnip, which is when your skin starts to freeze (it goes white, hard and waxy). As long as you warm up as soon as you can then it heals fine.
Bradley asks: Are you feeling the cold more after you shaved your hair off?
Not really. I always where a very warm fur-lined hat when I go outside so I don't think it has made much difference. Of course if I went outside without my hat I'd certainly notice! Inside the base it's always lovely and warm so it's not a problem.
Michael asks: How long does it take to unload the boat when it arrives in the summer?
It depends on exactly how much cargo we have to offload and how close the ship has been able to moor up, but it usually takes around 3-7 days. During that time we work two 12 hour shifts so that cargo is being moved all day and night. Because it is light for 24 hours in the summer that's not a problem!
Joshua P. asks: When you finish your research in Antarctica do you intend to do more research back in the UK?
After having such an exciting time down here I think it would be difficult for me to go back home and work in an office all day. I would be interested in travelling to other countries after I've been home for a while to see my friends and family. My current plan is to go home and spend some time training to become a helicopter pilot.
Casey asks: Are there any crevasses near Halley and if so how do you know where they are so that you don't fall down them?
There aren't any crevasses that we know about in the immediate area of Halley, but there is one large one around 10 miles away:
They are constantly opening up in certain areas of the ice shelf - the one in that picture was small enough to step across 10 months before that picture was taken!
Because we never know when or where they will appear, we always travel in linked pairs when we skidoo away from the station. That means that each skidoo is tied to another one by a thick rope, and the riders are tied to their skidoos. If someone drove into a crevasse the rope would stop them from falling all the way in and they could climb out again. These pictures show us travelling linked on my last winter trip:
Fortunately it's very rare for a skidoo to end up in a crevasse, but it does happen! Here's a picture from a few years ago showing an attempt to retrieve a lost skidoo!
Amy F. asks: Do you ever use a rope for safety when you go outside in strong winds?
In really bad weather we only go outside when we have to, and we stick to certain common routes between buildings which have handlines. Handlines are just long lengths of rope on poles which you can follow to get between buildings. You can see them on the right of this picture:
Mason asks: Have you ever heard or seen rocks popping and cracking from the cold temperatures?
No I can't say I have, but that's because we don't have any rocks here! Our whole base sitting on a floating ice shelf - the nearest rock is around 25 miles away. The only time I've seen rock since December 2003 is when I've flown over mountain ranges on the way to some of our remote science sites.
Although I haven't heard rocks cracking, I have definitely heard ice cracking and popping under pressure when I've been on my field trips. It can be quite unnerving when you are sleeping in a tent to be woken up by a loud cracking sound from the ground below!
Andrew asks: What is the best part of your job in Antarctica?
I like the fact that I get the chance to try so many different things. As well the day to day jobs I might find myself outside adjusting cables on the masts, flying a blimp for weather observations, helping to adjust the legs on the buildings to keep them level or using the platform crane to lower rubbish onto a sledge for storage. It's nice to have chance to do all those things and to have the freedom to decide for myself what to do when.
Ashley asks: Were your family upset when you told them that you would be working in Antarctica?
Before I got the job I had been talking about it a lot so I think they realised that I really wanted to go so they were happy for me. Of course I have been in touch by email and phone since I've been down here but it will be very nice to see them again when I get home next year.
Ethan asks: Have you ever been stuck to the ice?
No, fortunately that's not really something you have to worry about as it is so cold that the ice is pretty solid. A more common problem is getting stuck to anything that is metal if you touch it with your bare hands. You have to be really careful with metal tools outside as it can be quite painful to get them off if you are stuck to them. Someone even put a piece of metal climbing gear in their mouth and got it stuck to their lips!
Samantha asks: Before you went to Antarctica we read that you did training in First-aid and Climbing, but did you do any other training and how long did it all take before you travelled to Antarctica?
I started working for BAS at the end of July 2003 and didn't leave the UK until 19th November 2003, so that's about three and a half months. During that time I spent a fair bit of time learning about the computer systems in Cambridge. As well as the first-aid and field training there was an Antarctic conference to explain what things would be like. I also spent a week climbing and erecting masts so that I could help look after the masts related to the science experiments.
Kristina asks: Are you excited about the fact that the sun is starting to come up?
Yes, we're all looking forward to having the sun back because it means we can do a lot more. None of us have left the base for the last 3 months so we're excited about going down to the coast to see the penguins and then our winter trips after that.
Kacy asks: Have you painted any pictures of the sun on the horizon?
I did to a few paintings last year but I don't really seem to have found the time recently. Of course it's too cold to go outside and paint so you either have to work from memory or from a photograph.
Sarah asks: We have read that some people have their appendix removed before they stay in Antarctica. What medical checks did you need before you went to Antarctica?
It is true that BAS used to remove the appendix of everyone who wintered down here. These days however they have decided that there is actually a greater risk of complications while removing all of them than there is to leave them in and hope everyone is okay! If someone did develop Appendicitis or some other serious medical condition in the winter the doctor would have no choice but to operate, as happened in this story from a French base!
To try to minimise the chance of that happening all wintering staff are given a thorough medical checkup by the BAS medical unit. That includes listening to your heart and lungs, blood samples, studying your medical history, eye checks and probably lots of other things I can't remember.
Craig asks: After hearing about the person who had the climbing gear stuck to their lips I am wondering if you could go to Antarctica with metal braces on your teeth? Would they stay warm because they are in your mouth or would your lips stick to the metal?
I'm not really sure! My guess would be that they would be okay, since they would be kept warm by being in your mouth. You might have to avoid smiling too much when you were outside!
Sheena asks: We read about the plumbing problems that your Base had on Friday 13th last year. Have you had any more pipes burst and do you feel superstitious about that date?
We have had some other frozen pipes since then but nothing as serious fortunately! Occasionally in really cold or really windy weather some cold air seems to find it's way into the building. Recently the sink in the surgery got blocked up but fortunately it was easy to sort out this time round. I can't say I noticed that it was Friday 13th, so no I'm not superstitious about it.
Ainsley asks: How long did it take altogether to get from the UK to Antarctica?
It took me about five weeks. I flew from Heathrow airport to Montevideo in Uruguay on 19th November 2003 where I met the ship the RSS Ernest Shackleton. From there we sailed to Stanley in the Falkland Islands, Signy, Bird Island and South Georgia before finally mooring up against the sea ice at Halley on 23rd December.
On the way home I'm going to sail on the ship all the way back to the UK, which will take quite a bit longer. I'll probably be at sea for a couple of months and travel over 10,000 miles.